


homophrosyne

by chavnik



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Fluff, Hades and Persephone AU, Human Names Used, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Trans Character, aph germany - Freeform, aph italy - Freeform, gerita - Freeform, soft.....as a treat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chavnik/pseuds/chavnik
Summary: homophrosyne: meaning of the same mind it refers specifically to the strength of a marital bond. Or in this case, the strength of two idiots desperately pining without having the courage to speak about it. Yet even with their differences great, Ludwig a stressed king of the dead and Andréas a god of springtime and brightness, they each find comfort in each other.Hades and Persephone AU
Relationships: Germany/North Italy (Hetalia)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Professional Associates

**Author's Note:**

> Human names used.
> 
> Andréas - Italy.  
> Ludwig/Lutz - Germany.
> 
> The character Andréas belongs to me and Lutz belongs to my friend Liv!

The smell of rain and roses. It was the first scent Ludwig caught from his companion. It must have been raining in the land above where Andréas stayed, as fresh rain drops clung to his damp curly hair and kissed his cheeks. A subtle ache within the cavern of Lutz’ chest, for he wished it could be he who could touch the softness of his rosy cheeks, to feel his warmth in a fleeting touch. Rain wasn’t a thing very common in the underworld, but Andréas managed to make even the leftover drops seem like a radiant gift. 

Upon spotting his friend and companion (and more importantly- boss) Andréas gave an enthusiastic wave, approaching quickly with only his attention on Ludwig. In his hands was a dry brown parcel, carefully wrapped in twine. “Good morning! I had forgotten my umbrella when coming to work this morning. The sun was so wonderful I wasn’t expecting it to pour down on me, but you know I rather like a little cloudburst. There was the most gorgeous rainbow, and it’s not like anyone has ever died from a little rain.”

Ludwig had felt tense for a moment, nervous about receiving a kiss on the cheek (“a traditional greeting topside! You guys are no fun down here.”), but Andréas’ chatter about the _weather_ of all things was enough to calm the previous nerves about the kiss, and it seemed to make Andréas forget. Smiling slightly and with a careful tone, he replied, “Actually, approximately 4 people worldwide die from rain related matters per day.” 

Rather than pout or roll his eyes at Ludwig’s bluntness, Andréas just laughed, smiling so brightly that tiny white flowers began to bloom in his hair: “My mistake then! But still, it was light and refreshing so I don’t think I’d be in too much trouble. I hope if I did die in the rain you would put me in a little sunny corner of the underworld as compensation.”

Ludwig tried to compose himself under that sunbeam of a smile, finding the blossoming of flowers impossibly cute. “I swear, I would give you the sunniest part Elysium had to offer.”

His stomach flipped with butterflies, Andréas’ cheeks deepened in a shade of red. Often, Lutz said the sweetest things to him, and often he wondered if that was Lutz’ _intention_. All Andréas had was a slim hope, or Lutz could really dense on accident. “Mhm, how kind of you, fairest king of the underworld. Oh! Before I forget myself, I have a gift for you, handcrafted straight from my garden.” The brown bundle was passed into his hands, as Andréas’ eyes twinkled with pride. 

Glancing over his shoulder, Ludwig looked around to see if his secretary or any other workers were around. “Gift giving at work isn’t very appropriate you know, I might have to decl-”

But Andréas wasn’t about to take no for an answer. Instead he shook his head, pressing his warm hands against the backs of Ludwig’s to push the gift towards his chest. “ _Please_ , you said that last time. I… I really worked hard on this, and I want to give you a small thanks to show my appreciation, for being my friend.”

_Friend_. Ah. Their relationship was strictly professional and platonic, Ludwig had to remind himself solemnly. Seeing the determination in Andréas’ face and the sweetness of his words made Ludwig completely vulnerable to his charms. “Okay. Okay.. Thank you.” Untying the twine, he carefully unwrapped the gift, his heart beating in his throat and his cheeks getting impossibly hot. 

With those careful hands of a labourer, Andréas picked up the delicate gift; white lilies and blue cornflowers woven with love into a crown, which was placed upon Lutz’ head as he stood on his tiptoes to reach. The radiant smile appeared again, as his tanned hands tucked a strand of blonde hair behind his ear, gliding over Lutz’ cheek in a longing touch. Ludwig was captive by the simplicity and intimacy of Andréas’ tender movements, frozen in stiffness.

“You look… _Bellissimo_. I’ve never seen another look so handsome in flowers.” His own voice sounded like velvet, smooth and low. The docile look in Andréas’ golden eyes lingered over Ludwig’s face, feeling his words being carried off of his tongue by the butterflies in his stomach. Alas, the gentle look on his face was halted, widening with urgency: “Oh crap! I forgot to sign in- I’ll catch you later for lunch, okay? Don’t forget to keep your crown on!”

With that he was gone, disappeared like the traces of winter snow in spring, with only fresh blooms of flowers left where he had once stood. 

Lutz could finally let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding, the air crashing against his lungs like a battering ram. That was completely mortifying how he had froze up in front of him- what if he thought him a moron of little words? Ludwig decided the best course of action was to retreat into his office and hide. Rather than feel ostentatious about wearing a flower crown, Lutz indulged in letting the warm feeling that rose in his chest envelope him, distracted from all aspects of work.


	2. Flowers, and The Trouble of Yearning

The dark waters rippled underneath Andréas’ touch, dried and dead leaves transforming into fresh water lilies from a simple knock against his knuckle. With a slight laugh, he pushed one of the pink lilies so it floated towards Lutz, “I hope you don’t mind me adding some flowers to your beautiful river, I’m not used to seeing such a magnificent river  _ not _ being inhabited by life.”

Smiling back, Lutz kept the steady pace of rowing. “Of course I don’t mind. Your gift is amazing, you can get life to bloom even in a river of death.”

Blushing a peachy pink, Andréas returned his hands back into the row boat, watching the dark shimmering drops of river water drip. “Thank you, but I’m afraid my gift is quite ordinary among even nymphs and gods alike, you’d find me quite boring if you ventured topside more often.”

“On the contrary, you’re very special to my heart.”

The couple shared a soft, secretive smile, noticing the redness that tinged each other's cheeks without having to say a word.

Andréas diverted his eyes, finding them drawn to Ludwig's arms. The way they moved, slow and steady in their flexing, as he rowed them upstream was enchanting. Biting his lip softly, Andréas allowed his gaze to linger longingly over the bulging biceps. What he would give to squeeze them just once- He was getting too distracted. Andréas closed his eyes instead, tilting his head backwards towards the artificial light of the underworld. It didn't have the same warmth as the sun did; with the added stillness of the wind, his heart yearned at the reminder of his home. 

The opportunity to gaze without being seen arose to Ludwig, carefully watching Andréas bask underneath the light like a flower blooming, reaching skyward. His eyes traced the sharp line of his jaw, trailing down to the graceful curve of his throat that seemed like sin itself to admire so openly. The gentle bob that instinctively made Ludwig swallow too. What would it feel like, to trace his fingers against that jaw and press his lips against the elegant slope of his throat, committing every inch of skin kissed to memory? 

Such thoughts, he concluded, were a waste of time. Andréas was an elusive and unattainable man to Ludwig, for he was a creature of the above, he deserved to be amongst the sun and rain, surrounded by an everlasting garden of life. Lutz scrutinised any hope he had of- something, anything- between them, sparing another longing glance at the god savouring the light.

A deep bark echoed out suddenly, disturbing both of their hearts the trouble of yearning. 

With the utmost excitement, Andréas nearly threw himself overboard with how fast he moved to lean over the side of the row boat towards the sound of the bark. “Ohmygods! Lutz I heard you had a great hellhound protecting the underworld- but I didn’t think he’d be here! You have a dog! Dogs? Doggies? I’m going with doggies- Hi boys!”

Just as he had finished chastising himself over getting hopeful over nothing, the pure elation on Andréas’ face towards Cerberus created a sunny, pleasant feeling in his chest.

“Careful, you’ll fall into the Styx… That’s Cerberus.”

“I think I’ll die anyway if I don’t hurry up and pet Cerberus in the next minute! He’s so cute!- I can’t believe you kept this beauty hidden from me,” Andréas sent Lutz a bright grin as their boat was close enough to be docked. Wanting to be somewhat helpful, Andréas began tying the rope from the dock to stop the rowboat from drifting downstream into the Lethe to be forgotten. His hands were clumsy, shaking with anticipation at the prospect of Cerberus and evening to come.

A steady hand pressed against his shoulder, “Andréas it’s okay, you’ve tied it twice now. That’s more than secure. Would you like to come say hello to him?” Glancing up, the hand was now outstretched to him.

“Of course I do, nothing would give me greater delight.” The touch of their hands made flowers bloom in Andréas’ hair accidentally: delicate buds of daisies and forget-me-nots to contrast the redness of his cheeks. Hauling himself up with Ludwig’s help, Andréas merely laughed off the sudden blooming as embarrassment. “I don’t know why that happened! Sorry, sorry.” Witnessing the blue and white petals lightly fall made his stomach flip. Hopefully, being a chthonic god meant he wasn’t accustomed to the emotional nature of flowers, thus wouldn’t be able to figure out the secret affection Andréas harboured for the king of the underworld. Gods, usually his emotions were kept under better control, not sprouting every time at the slightest of things- that just spoke of his nerves for the impending dinner.

Lutz dropped his hand from Andréas’, the glow of his warmth still tingled along his fingertips. “No apology needed. I think your flowers are beautiful, you’re welcome to blossom into flowers whenever you please.”

Just a few more buds bloomed because of his words, intrigued and seeming to have a mind of their own. Andréas in that moment wouldn’t mind falling backwards into the Styx and being swept to Lethe to forget this embarrassing incident and pretending he never existed. Thankfully, another deep bark brought the attention away from his petals.

“Oh now  _ you’re  _ beautiful!” Andréas bounded towards Cerberus before Lutz had a chance to tell him to be careful- this was the dreaded hound of hell, devourer of souls after all- 

But to his astonishment, the advice wasn’t needed. Cerberus sat patiently, his middle head giving kisses, the right head sniffing at Andréas’ arm, and the left head nipping his tunic sleeve almost carefully. Ludwig spoke with pride in his voice, still somewhat dazed: “That... Has never happened before. Wow.” 

His heart soared, Lutz had hoped this meeting between his two favourite beings would be an amiable one, but this exceeded all expectations. Idly, he dreamt of giving his kingdom up just to come home to this sight everyday.

A heavy sniffle. Ludwig saw Andréas’ bottom lip wobbling and his eyes teary, suddenly worried, “Andréas? Is something wrong, what happened?-”

“I… I don’t have enough arms to pet all his heads at once!” Although he wailed out, burying his face into Cerberus’ fur, Lutz found himself laughing at the predicament his companion found himself in, yearning to comfort him in these troubles with kisses and wholehearted promises to return whenever his heart desired to pet the great hellhound. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> \- Bellissimo : beautiful in italian
> 
> \- Andréas & Lutz are two ocs who take vague inspiration from canon but are very different character-wise, if you were expecting something akin to the canon personalities then apologies!
> 
> \- Loosely inspired by Lore Olympus in the sense of Andréas is working in the underworld right now but that's all really.
> 
> \- I've planned this out to be a three part fic but who knows what other ideas I might get, this au lives rent free in my brain. It would be slow burn if I had any patience lmao.
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter!


End file.
